Thirty-seven

A million butterflies beat against the inside of Lara’s stomach as she dropped to the blanket.

Was she ready?

Lord, she hoped so. She loved this patient man who’d shown her great tenderness. He deserved a whole wife, not someone who could only stand beside him in the daytime. He needed a real partner to help during times of crisis, when the darkness swirled around and tested his strength the most.

She leaned closer, inhaling his familiar scent, letting calm replace her doubts. Giving his hand a tug, she pulled him down beside her. Placing her mouth next to his ear, Lara whispered, “This is the beginning of the rest of our lives. Are you ready?”

Houston ran a finger along her jaw and down her neck. “I was born ready for you, darlin’. We don’t have to do anything. We can just sit here and talk.”

While she still had fear, talking wasn’t what she had in mind.

She laid a hand on the side of his face, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. The butterflies disappeared, replaced with a desire to accept wholly everything her husband offered.

He moved behind her and worked at her braid. “Your hair is too beautiful to put away like this.”

While he undid each section of hair, Lara asked, “Houston, are you happy?”

A growl rumbled in his throat. “What kind of question is that? I’ve never known this kind of contentment. You changed my life, Lara. I never want to go back to the lonely man I was before you came. How about you? Are you happy?”

“I am. For weeks, especially in the beginning, I worried that you wouldn’t keep me. That I brought too many problems.”

With her hair hanging free, he moved to face her. Moonlight helped her see the burning in Houston’s soulful gaze. His voice rasped. “Of course I’m keeping you. You’re not a holey sock to toss in the rag pile. Promise never to walk away. I never want to step into that kind of darkness again.”

He brushed his lips across her forehead. The kiss was so gentle it brought tears welling up. Love for this man swept aside every other thought. Deep hunger for him rose, making her stomach whirl and dip.

“I promise.” She leaned back to stare into his eyes and saw the smoldering passion that darkened the color. “To be separated from you would be the end for me too. Houston, I want to be your wife in every way.”

“I’ve yearned to hear you say those words.” He drew her closer, protecting her inside the circle of his arms, and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You know what I call you?” When she shook her head, he said, “You’re my wild Texas rose.”

The beautiful sentiment brought a lump to her throat and trapped the air in her chest.

“I’ll tell you why,” Houston continued. “The wild Texas rose is known for resilience and determination. Like you, its roots cling to the soil, no matter how rocky, and the plant puts forth the prettiest flowers. The wild rose survives. So have you. Despite everything life’s thrown at you, you’ve tilted that stubborn chin and thrived.”

Conviction in his quiet words brought tightness to her throat. She had survived. To be thought of as his wild rose made her deliriously happy.

“You give me far too much credit.”

“No, I don’t give you credit enough.” His hand slid down her back. “Lie down and let the moonlight worship you. Though I doubt it can match the love I have for my rose.”

She stretched out with her arms over her head, gazing up at millions of stars. Never had she felt so liberated or loved. She was free of her pain. Yuma Blackstone had lost his power over her. Houston lay next to her. Moments alone with him were precious few, and these meant more than anything.

To her, Houston Legend was a knight on an Appaloosa with a six-gun on his hip—a dream she’d thought she’d forever lost.

Turning on her side, she rested her hand lightly on his chest. “I don’t need pretty words to seduce me. I just need you, but I love being compared to such a flower.” She kissed the hollow of his throat where his pulse beat. “Make love to me, Houston.”

He knelt above her. “If only we had a wagon with sturdy springs, Mrs. Legend.”

Lara laughed. “Indeed. But I like being here next to the earth. It’s perfect.” She stroked his face, staring into the dark, smoky depths of his eyes. Slowly she unbuttoned his shirt and laid a palm on the hard wall of his chest.

As the water splashed against the riverbank, she closed her eyes. It was time to memorize every note of his body. The tune already played in her head. With the rippling river providing accompaniment, Lara began to hear the song written on Houston’s well-formed body.

Anticipation hummed in her veins as she flattened her palms over his brown nipples, feeling them harden beneath her touch. Before this trip, she’d never thought about men having nipples or that they could show proof of desire. She loved that he gave her freedom to explore, to let her hands go where she wished.

His bulge pressed into her stomach and she yearned for the courage to touch him there. But she couldn’t. Not yet.

Memories tried to wiggle into her head, and each time, she pushed them firmly away. Tonight belonged to Houston and her, no one else. She kept her thoughts on the here and now, and the future full of bright promise ahead.

Houston’s palm slid across her throat and collarbone then into her hair.

Releasing a groan, he covered her lips with his. As with the time before, he slipped his tongue inside her softly parted lips to dance with hers. She liked what he was doing and how each shift, touch, and flick of his magical fingers brought pleasure swirling inside her.

Currents of warmth from a low flame danced along her body, but she sensed much more waiting for her just beyond. The music that had begun slow and soft had turned into a crashing anthem. Hunger for her cowboy rose hot, aching, and needy.

Above her, Houston ran a teasing finger down her throat to the buttons of her dress and traced the curve of each breast.

Dear God, she wanted him…this thing he alone could give.

“I have to know if you’re all right with this, Lara. Are you sure?” He spread his hand wide across a swollen breast.

Her nipple distended, straining against the fabric, reaching for his caress. She felt like the wanton saloon girl she’d once seen kissing a lusty cowboy in the alley in Amarosa. The fallen woman had made bold moves and took what she wanted.

A craving she couldn’t explain made her breath hitch as she managed, “Never more so.” Her voice sounded husky, not like her at all. “Please, I have this fire about to consume me.”

“Every wish is my command, darlin’.” He worked at the buttons on her dress.

Impatience swept over her. She wished he’d simply rip them off and be done. She had to feel his hands on her, to relieve this ravenous hunger, to find the lost part of herself.

With the buttons undone at last, he rose and pulled her up. As he removed her clothes, the air cooled her fevered skin. She turned to undressing him. Each item she stripped away revealed more and more of his beautiful form. Muscles rippled along his chest and his arms.

So strong. So virile. So handsome.

Finally, he stood as naked as she in the moonlight except for his drawers. With his eyes holding hers captive, he slowly lowered the last bit of clothing.

Trembling from head to toe, she lay back on the blanket. He curled next to her, propping himself on an arm.

“Will it hurt?” she murmured, kissing his chest.

“I will never hurt you.”

“And will you put out this fire that makes me so hot?”

He chuckled. “I will do my utter best, darlin’.”

“I like when you call me that. It makes me feel as though I’m someone special.”

“Never doubt that, because you are.” He knelt, leaving a trail of kisses down her body.

Lara trembled as she entwined her fingers in his hair. She loved him, this man who had given her child a name, getting nothing in return except a wife frozen by the past. He was her life, her hope, her salvation.

With each touch, pleasure shot from her core, stronger than anything she’d ever felt. She gasped and rode along with the water of the Canadian as it sang her a song she’d never heard. It was a song of hope, love, and told of a future.

The velvet warmth of Houston’s kisses drugged her, searing a path to her stomach where he pressed his lips, making her shudder with desire. Finally, he covered her body with his heat. She felt him tremble and knew he waited in anticipation as much as she did.

This virile man, knowing what he knew, chose her. She was his wife and from now on she intended to do more than pretend. Her fingers tangled in his hair before her hand slid down his back to his waist.

He murmured into the hair at her temple. “Your last chance to back out, my rose.”

A laugh sprang up. “I brought my gun. Reach for your clothes and I’ll shoot you.”

“You’re kidding. Aren’t you?” His tone relayed teasing doubt.

“Try me, cowboy.”

Houston groaned. “I created a jezebel.” He smoothed back her hair and gave her a sizzling kiss that made her toes curl. New spirals of desire flooded all her senses.

Her breasts tingled, pressed hard against the solid planes of his chest, and her hunger built. She clutched him to her, holding fast, bracing for the moment she’d feared despite every desire not to.

“Look into my eyes and trust me, sweetheart,” he murmured. “If I bring you pain, you can take your little gun and shoot me. This I promise.”

But he slid inside and only a melting sweetness came. Their bodies joined and began the dance of love. Passion flowed over her like thick, sweet honey and she embraced the beautiful warmth. Lara dragged in soul-drenching draughts of air, praying the night would never end.

Something told her she was in the hands of a master. He brought her to a wave’s crest but pulled back before she could plunge over the top. The sweet, teasing torture let her experience the climb several times, until finally, finally, she shattered into a million stars. They rained down on her in a shower of love and passion.

Only then did he take his pleasure and collapse with a shudder. She lay, trying to force breath into her lungs, marveling at what had happened. Making love wasn’t anything to fear or avoid, and she prayed for lots more.

After several minutes, still trying to slow his breath, he moved off her. His voice was ragged when he spoke next. “Lady, I sensed deep passion hidden inside you but I didn’t know the half of it.”

Lara turned on her side and trailed a finger down his chest. “I never imagined it could be this way between two people. I’m very glad fate brought us together. You’ve just proven that you and Nick Vincent are nothing alike.”

“Oh?” One eyebrow lifted and he mock-growled, “Pray tell, what have you been doing with young Nick?”

“Relax. Absolutely nothing.” She shared Caroline’s frustrations over her young husband’s quick release.

He laughed, putting an arm around her. “That explains why they spend every spare second testing the springs of their wagon. Will you tell Caroline about our lovemaking?”

“Not even a little bit! I won’t share one single thing about you with anyone.” She caressed his jaw and kissed him. “You’re all mine, buster.”

Theirs was one life, one purpose, one unforgettable love.